


Explosion + Torture

by AnxietyIncarnate



Series: MacGyver and the alternate endings [2]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Mentions of Violence, Scared Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Swearing, Trauma, Violence, mostly left up to your imagination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxietyIncarnate/pseuds/AnxietyIncarnate
Summary: Mac survives the explosion, but Jack doesn’t know that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this is an alternative timeline type thing to my other story,  
Explosion + Reincarnation. I had a scenario in my head, but my brain took it so many different ways, and I didn’t want to pick just one.

Mac worked at the bomb, worry beginning to set into his mind. This bomb was proving to be very difficult to disarm, and he didn’t have much time left.

Jack was outside, trying to keep civilians as far away as possible, whilst also trying to keep an eye on Murdoc, who was of course, the one to set the damn thing.

Matty should have really sent more than just the two of them on this.

“Have you got it yet, Mac?” Jack’s voice sounded from outside

“Not quite Jack, but I think I-” he froze. _Shit_.

The timer had gone down by about a minute. There wasn’t enough time.

Mac dropped his knife and ran towards the nearest exit.

He was a few feet outside the backdoor when the blast went off, shoving him forwards, and sending him tumbling into the river.

He could distantly hear Jack screaming his name, but before he could respond, the current pulled him under.

The river was moving fast.

Too fast.

He could hardly get his head up for air before being pulled back under again.

It’s a few minutes before he manages to snag the branch of a fallen tree and pull himself onto the shore, coughing up the water that he’d swallowed, he flops to the ground, trying to catch his breath.

It’s another couple minutes before he can sit up, and try to figure out where he’d ended up.

If he had to guess, he’d say he was a few miles down from the house, or whatever remained of it. But it would be getting dark soon, and even if he could get back there on foot before Jack left...

Jack.

Oh shit.

He felt panic rising inside him, Jack thought he was still in the building when the bomb went off.

Jack probably thought he was dead.

Mac closed his eyes, forcing himself to take deep breaths, to think.

The house, even if we could find his way back, was on the opposite side of the river.

His comm buzzed faintly in his ear, and a wave of relief washed over him

Through the static, he could make out little bits of the conversation between Jack and the others, just enough to get an idea of what they were saying.

“...ack what...ened?”

“...re is Mac”

“...ou ok?”

“...an’t find....think.....dead”

Uh oh.

He quickly opened his part of the channel

“Can you hear me?” His voice shook slightly as the cold began to set in

“...re...sure....ack?”

The comm died.

_oh no oh no oh no_

They couldn’t hear him.

They didn’t know he was alive.

_They didn’t know_

_They didn’t know_

_They didn’t know._

He didn’t hear the footsteps approaching from behind.

He didn’t notice anything until it was too late.

Something struck the back of his head, and the world went dark.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

When Mac opened his eyes, he was in a cold, damp room. His arms were tied above him, and his back was to a cold, hard wall. The world was blurry

He blinked, trying to bring the world back into focus.

He almost wished he hadn’t.

There, standing in front of him with a sadistic grin, was Murdoc.

Shit.

“Good morning, Angus. I’m so glad you could join me”


	2. Chapter 2

THREE MONTHS LATER.

P.O.VJACK

Three months had passed since they had lost Mac in the explosion. 

They had never found a body. Just Mac’s pocket knife, Jack always carried it with him now.

Jack had been a wreck, hell, he still was.

He’d taken time off work, they all had.

Matty had promised not to call them in unless they’d found something

So when his phone rang, and Matty told him to ‘get your ass down here, ASAP’

He hadn’t moved that fast in a long time.

He burst into the war room, Riley and Bozer were already there.

“What did you find?” He asked, his voice shaking.

Matty tapped the screen, an image of Murdoc, displayed side by side with a screenshot from a security camera appeared “Murdoc has been spotted returning to this location multiple times a week, for the past three months” Matty said “I want you to go, find out what he’s up to, and if you can, bring him in”

Jack stared at the screen, Hatred towards Murdoc building up inside him “Ok”

“The plane is ready to take the three of you. Be careful”

Riley got up from where she was sitting “ok. Let’s go get this son of a bitch”

Matty nodded “good luck”

——————————————————————————————————————————————-

The flight was taking to long.

They had only been in the air for around thirty minutes, but each passing moment felt like an eternity.

Jack was pacing up and down the cabin, too anxious and angry to sit still.

Murdoc was going to pay for that bomb.

How unfortunate was it that Jack couldn’t make him pay with his life?

“Jack, you should sit down” Bozer said, and Jack turned to face him “I can’t. I can’t sit down. I can’t calm down, I can’t do _anything_ right now” he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath

“All I can do is think about beating the shit out of Murdoc”

“Jack, I know” Riley said “but pacing around isn’t helping anyone” she paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was small “it won’t bring him back”

Jack sighed, finally sitting down, wiping tears out of his eyes “I shoulda protected him”

“Jack” Bozer murmured “it wasn’t your fault. there was nothing you could’ve done”

“Yeah” Riley assured him “Jack, nobody blames you for what happened”

He met her gaze, tears building up in his eyes again “I do”

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Jack had stood back up not long after that, returning to pacing up and down the cabin.

Riley looked at Bozer “how can he blame himself for this? It...it wasn’t his fault”

Bozer simply shook his head “Jack’s been looking out for Mac for years, remember? He always felt responsible whenever anything bad happened to him” he sighed, Looking to where Jack now stood, staring out the window, Mac’s pocketknife in his hand. “It’ll take him a long time to be able to forgive himself”

“Hopefully, bringing in Murdoc will help, but...you never know” Bozer said, quietly

Riley shook her head “I don’t know, Bozer. I think the only person who could help him right now would be Mac”

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Two hours passed, and the plane had finally landed.

now, all they had to do was find the building that Murdoc seemed so invested in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a lot...darker...in my head.

P.O.VMAC

Another sharp stab of pain sent him crumbling to the ground, he sprawled out across the cold, dirty floor. He tried to get his arms underneath him, to push himself back up, but his broken wrist gave way, and he slumped back down.

He opened his eyes, his vision swimming. He could see Murdoc walking away towards the door. A door that Mac would never be able to reach.

“Oh that was such good fun” Murdoc said as he opened the door to leave “I’ll see you tomorrow, Angus”

The door slammed shut, and Mac flinched at the noise.

He closed his eyes again, letting the tears fall now that Murdoc was no longer there.

He’d lost count of the days. He’d lost any hope of someone finding him

_Nobody knew he was still alive._

_Nobody knew Murdoc had him._

_It’d be better if he was dead._

_He couldn’t do this anymore...he..._

The world faded away as he lost consciousness.

——————————————————————————————————————————

It was the sound of shouting that woke him up.

Three voices, yelling from the other room.

“-got away! God dammit!” They sounded angry

“There’s another door!”

Mac felt a small spark of hope, praying that whoever was out there would find him

There was the sound of pounding footsteps, the door was flung open, and-

“Oh my God. Mac!”

It was Jack. Jack had found him.

Mac let out a breath he’d been holding ever since the explosion.

“Jack” His voice was scratchy from disuse, the older agent was next to him now.

“I thought you were dead, Mac. What the hell...” Jack’s voice trailed off as he finally got a good look at Mac.

At the cuts and bruises that covered him from head to toe, the rusty brown that was mixed in with his blond hair, and the clearly broken wrist “oh, Mac” he whispered, his voice shaking at the sight in front of him.

“Mac!” He shifted his gaze to see Bozer running towards him, worry clear in his eyes.

“Boze” he responded with a weak smile, trying to assure his friend that he was...well, not ok, but alive at least.

He looked back at Jack “how long?” He asked, and Jack gave him a quizzical look “since the explosion? Mac, it’s been three months”

_Huh_. Mac thought. _It feels like it’s been way longer than that._

“Ok, I got everything off the camera!” Riley’s voice sounded from the far wall, He hadn’t noticed she was there until just now.

“Thanks Riley” Jack said, though all his attention remained on Mac

“Let’s get you outta here, Brother”

Jack was suddenly lifting him off the ground, and Mac let out a small noise of surprise

“Jack, I-i can walk” Jack shook his head “no can do, kiddo. There is no way I’m letting you walk in your condition. You just focus on getting comfy, Alright?”

Mac gave his friend an exasperated look, but didn’t argue.

——————————————————————————————————————————

P.O.VJACK

As he carried Mac out to the car, Jack couldn’t help but feel guilty for not getting there sooner,

For not preventing what had happened.

At least Mac was alive, he reminded himself. At least he’s alive

But was it worth the pain he’d gone through?

He and Mac ended up in the back seat of the rental car, the seatbelts forgotten.

The last thing Mac needed right now was to be restrained.

The car door slammed loudly, and Mac jumped, eyes going wide with fear.

“Woah, Mac. You’re safe. It’s ok” Jack said quickly, trying to reassure him.

Mac cast him a quick glance, and nodded, taking deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Jack leaned over, pulling the younger agent into an embrace, it broke his heart the way Mac leaned into the gentle touch.

Mac’s breathing had just started to even out again, when a loud ringing sound filled the small car, causing the blond to tense up, pressing himself further into the hug.

Jack could feel his heart racing.

“Bozer turn that off!” Jack hissed quietly, and the ringing stopped moments later.

Bozer turned around “is he ok?!”

Jack gave his head a small shake, trying not to disturb the younger agent in his arms

“Let’s just get to the airport. Now”

—————————————————————————————————————————-

Somehow, on the way to the airport, Mac had fallen asleep, still leaning against Jack.

Poor kid must have been exhausted.

Jack still held onto the kid when they got onto the plane, not wanting to have him wake up mid flight, and not know where he was.

Riley had brought out the first aid kit, and with help from Bozer, they’d managed to splint Mac’s wrist. It’d have to do until they could get him to a hospital.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Riley asked quietly, and Jack met her gaze, “I...I don’t know, Riley. I think he’ll be better, eventually, but he might never be ‘alright’ again”

Riley sighed, closing her eyes, and pressing a hand to her face

“we should call Matty” Bozer said, pulling out his phone “we need to let her know what happened”

Jack looked back down at Mac, the blond was still sleeping, and despite the cuts and bruises that covered his face, the kid looks peaceful.

“Yeah, ok. Just make sure the volume isn’t to loud”

——————————————————————————————————————————

“Why did you ignore my call earlier?” Matty sounded angry

“Sorry Matty, it just...was a really bad time.” Riley said, casting a glance at Mac, still asleep.

“What do you mean it was a bad time?” Her voice got louder, and Mac’s face twitched into an uncomfortable frown

“Shhhhhh!” The three of them hissed at the phone all at once

“You’ll wake him up!” Jack said, and he could hear the confusion in Matty's voice when she responded “wake who up?”

“Mac” Bozer replied “we found him, he’s alive”

Jack hears a small sigh of relief on the other line “and Murdoc?”

“He got away, sorry Matty” Riley apologized

“It doesn’t matter, just bring Mac home. We’ll deal with finding Murdoc later”

“Alright. We’re on the plane right now, see you in a couple hours”


	4. Chapter 4

P.O.V JACK

Matty had an ambulance waiting for them when they landed, after getting Mac secure in the stretcher, and tossing his car keys to Riley, Jack climbed In the back with him.

Riley, Matty, and Bozer would follow behind the ambulance, and meet them there.

The paramedics asked Jack a bunch of questions that he didn’t have the answers to.

They cut away the shredded fabric of Mac’s shirt, revealing more wounds than Jack had originally noticed, many of them were infected, which explained the fever.

The one that made his blood boil the most though, was the name MURDOC carved into the side of Mac’s chest in jagged letters. It looked fresh.

“Shit” one of the Paramedics, a woman in her mid-30’s named Emily, whispered, as she grabbed a box of alcohol wipes, and began, gently, cleaning the wounds. “It’s a good thing you found him when you did” she said, looking up at Jack “He might not have survived much longer”

Jack shook his head, another wave of guilt washing over him “I should have found him sooner”

Emily gave him a sympathetic smile, resting a hand on his shoulder

“You can’t spend time worrying about the past. You’ve got him now. That’s what matters”

Jack nodded gratefully, turning his gaze back to Mac, relieved to find that the kid was still sleeping.

The ambulance pulled to a stop, and the paramedics opened the door to the ambulance, quickly moving the stretcher to the ground, and rushing into the hospital, Jack ran alongside them.

A doctor tried to stop Jack from following through a hallway, but Emily turned “let him through, Kyle” the doctor looked at her for a moment, and stepped aside, Jack rushed past him, towards Mac, muttering a quick ‘thank you’ to Emily.

Once they got him into a room, and on a bed, there was a flurry of movement. Jack stepped back, trying his best to stay out of the way.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was really only a couple minutes, it was calm.

Mac, now wearing a hospital gown, and hooked up to an IV and heart monitor, was somehow still asleep. A quiet, steady beeping filled the room.

A doctor had come into the room at some point during the chaos, and was in the process of casting Mac’s arm.

Jack let out a small sigh of relief as the doctor finished and turned to Jack “a nurse will be here in a little while to check on him” he nodded a silent ‘thank you’, and moved to sit in the chair next to Mac’s bed.

He gently took one of Mac’s hands in his own

“You’re safe now, Mac” he murmured, his voice breaking slightly

“We’re gonna get you fixed up, ok kid?”

Mac, still sound asleep, didn’t respond.

——————————————————————————————————————————

P.O.VMAC

There were moments, when he wasn’t fully awake, but not asleep either, when he thought could hear people talking. Hushed conversations, and worried whispers.

And a steady beeping noise, always just at the edge of his hearing.

_He didn’t want to wake up._

_He didn’t want to find himself back in that cold warehouse._

_He didn’t want to go back to the pain._

But eventually, his eyes fluttered open, and he jerked with shock, the steady beeping changing to a more panicked note.

Suddenly, Jack was there, trying to calm him down.

“Easy there, pal. It’s ok. You’re ok”

“..Jack?” His voice was barley more than a whisper, he was afraid if he spoke to loudly, it would shatter the illusion, and he’d wake up for real.

Jack smiled tiredly “yeah, it’s me, Mac, it’s me. You’re safe, it’s ok”

Mac turned his head slightly, looking beyond Jack to see Riley, Bozer and Matty, all looking on with concern in their eyes.

Realization dawned on him

It wasn’t a dream.

They’d really found him

He was safe

_He was safe_

Mac let out a small sob of relief, and found himself being pulled into a warm embrace, Jack’s hand moving in slow, soothing circles on his back “shhhh it’s ok, I’ve got you”

The rapid beeping slowly returned to the same, steady rhythm as before, Mac was breathing shakily, tears were still streaking down his cheeks.

“Thank you” he murmured into Jacks shoulder, his voice still trembling.

Jack let out a small, watery laugh “anytime, Mac”

Mac looked up as the others approached, and allowed himself to be pulled into another embrace, this time though, it was all of them.

“It’s good to see you, Mac” Matty said after a few minutes, and Riley nodded “we...we thought you were dead” Mac took a deep breath, and looked down “I know. I heard you, over the comms after the explosion”

Jack looked up in surprise “you did?”

Mac swallowed, and nodded “I...I tried to...to let you know I was ok...but...”

“We couldn’t hear you” Bozer whispered.

Mac nodded mutely, leaning against Jack’s side, and relaxing slightly as the older agent wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“After....after that I...something hit me, and when I woke up...” he trailed off, not really wanting to think about what had happened. “It’s ok, you don’t have to talk about it” Jack assured him gently.

Matty looked down at her phone “it’s getting late, we should get going”

Jack shook his head “I’m not going anywhere”

She nodded in understanding “and I won’t force you too, Jack. I’ll feel better knowing that you’re here”

She then turned to Riley and Bozer “I want you two to meet me in the war room tomorrow”

“Ok” Riley said, turning back to Mac “see you later”

“Yeah” Bozer agreed “I’ll stop by tomorrow”

Mac gave him a tired half-smile “see you then”

——————————————————————————————————————————

The others had left, and Mac was leaning back against his pillows, listening to Jack ramble on about all the ridiculous things that had happened in the months he’d been gone.

“I’m telling you Mac, nobody knew what the hell to do in that situation!”

Mac shook his head in amusement “it’s a microwave, Jack. Why didn’t you just rewire it?”

Jack looked at him in exasperation “because I don’t know how to do that! And this-“ Jack pulled the Pocket knife out of his coat, and pressed it into Mac’s hand “Wasn’t exactly helpful”

Mac turned the pocket knife over in his hand, his fingers closed around it, and the familiar weight was comforting. He looked back up at Jack “so let me guess, the microwave is broken, right?” Jack nodded “oh yeah, the things toast”

Mac rolled his eyes “thought so” he shook his head in amusement “what did Riley and Bozer have to say about that?”

“Well Riley called me an idiot” Jack said “and Bozer was laughing to hard to talk”

Mac let out a small, quiet laugh at that, not noticing Jack’s grin at the sound.

Soon though, Mac felt his eyelids begin to drop, exhaustion pulling at him.

“Alright” Jack said “time for you to get some sleep”

Mac shook his head, a look of fear flashing across his face “I..I don’t-“ but Jack cut him off

“I know, Mac. But you need to sleep, I’ll be right here. You’ll be ok”

Reluctantly, Mac nodded, and allowed his eyes to close, the pocket knife still held securely in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay angst! And hugs! I love hugs!  
I’m having way to much fun with this guys.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep Paralysis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that, an update!
> 
> This chapter was kinda frustrating to write, since I didn’t really plan past “Mac gets rescued”
> 
> I also have no experience with sleep paralysis so I don’t know how accurate it is.

The room was dark when he opened his eyes, a feeling of dread filled him, he tried to sit up, but there was a heavy weight on his chest, preventing him from moving.

A steady beeping noise was coming from the monitor beside him

His gaze flicked to the side of the bed, looking for Jack, but the older agent wasn’t there.

The steady beeping sound picked up its pace a little bit.

Where was Jack? What time was it? Why couldn’t he move?

A shuffling noise sounded from the far corner of the hospital room, Mac turned his head to look at the corner, where a dark, shadowy figure stood, it was too dark to see any details.

Two pinpricks of light glimmered menacingly from what Mac assumed was the figures face.

The beeping became faster again.

A sinister chuckle filled the room, and the figure stepped out of the shadows.

“Did you REALLY think I’d let you get away that easily, Angus?”

Murdoc had a sadistic grin on his face, the beeping sound sped up even more, screeching out a warning to someone, anyone, that something was wrong.

“well, you really aren’t that smart, are you?”

“-ac!” Another voice sounded faintly, but Mac’s eyes remained locked on Murdoc, unable to move, unable to look away

“Don’t worry, they won’t find you this time”

“Mac! Wake UP!”

—————————————————————————————————————————

Mac’s eyes flew open, he launched himself forward with a shout of fear, his heart pounding painfully in his chest, matching the screeching of the monitor perfectly.

He gasped for breath, closing his eyes against the tears that were building up.

A hand rested tentatively on his shoulder, and he jumped in fear. Turning his head to look at the person the hand belonged too.

It was Jack. The older agents eyes were wide with concern and shock

Mac let out a sob of fear and relief, allowing himself to one again, be pulled into a tight, but gentle embrace.

“I’ve gotcha, Mac. I’m here, you’re safe” Jack’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

Mac shook his head tiredly against Jack’s chest “I...he was...I couldn’t....” he let out another sob, curling himself tighter into the older agents arms

“He won’t hurt you ever again, Mac” Jack murmured gently “he’s nowhere near. There are agents tracking him down as we speak”

“No” Mac whispered “no he... he was...he was here, Jack”

Jack pulled away to look him in the eye, and Mac was surprised to see that Jack was crying too “You’re safe, Mac. He’s not here, I promise. It...it was just a bad dream, ok? I promise you, Mac. You’ll never see him again”

“How do you know that?” Macs voice shook

“Because I’m gonna make sure of it. I’m not leaving your side until he’s either dead and gone, or locked up someplace where he’ll never see the light of day again”

Jack pulled him back into his arms, murmuring quiet reassurances until the exhaustion won over, and Mac fell back asleep.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

P.O.VJack

It had been two weeks since they had rescued Mac.

Two weeks of nightmares and tears.

Mac was getting better, he could stand on his own now, and was able to walk with assistance.

But it was still hard to see him so afraid.

Jack looked up as he heard laughter, Mac was bracing himself against the wall, Riley stood nearby, and Bozer was lying on the floor, having tripped over his own two feet.

“Are you gonna get up?” Riley asked

Bozer looked up at her “no. I’m very comfortable down here” he said dryly

Mac shook his head in amusement, leaning more heavily against the wall as laughter shook his body.

Jack smiled at the sight.

The door to the room opened, and Matty walked in, she surveyed the scene before her and sighed “god this family is ridiculous”

Mac, still laughing, looked over at her “Hey Matty” he said, his voice still full of laughter

Bozer sat up, accepting Rileys hand as she pulled him to his feet.

“What’s up?” Jack asked he crossed the room to join the others

Matty smiled “I’m very happy to report that Murdoc has been arrested, he’s being held under maximum security”

The result of the information was instantaneous, Jack let out a small sigh of relief, he looked over at Mac, who, for the first time in two weeks, looked completely at ease.

Riley pulled Mac into a tight hug, before stepping back, and Bozer took her place.

——————————————————————————————————————————

P.O.VMac

With Murdoc behind bars, Mac could finally return home.

Riley and Bozer had gone back to the house ahead of them, having left about an hour before Mac was discharged.

Mac refused to use a wheelchair, and instead walked out of the hospital with some assistance from Jack.

After helping Mac into the passenger seat, Jack crossed to the drivers side

“You ready to go?” He asked, and Mac nodded “definitely”

The drive was relatively quiet, the two of them content to sit in silence, talking on occasion.

Mac spent most of the drive staring out the window at the familiar city.

He hadn’t been home in a long time, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it until now.

Mac sighed softly “I...can’t wait to be home”

Jack gave him a sympathetic smile “yeah, I know. We’ll be there soon”


End file.
